Savvy Shopper: Try these inexpensive ideas for summer fun

Even though I was raised in a time and a town where the television had few channels and the diversions were even fewer, I could always find a way to stay occupied during the summer. By the same token, my memories include “Welcome Back, Kotter” being funny and leisure suits being stylish and chic. In other words, it’s fairly obvious that my recollections have a way of being filtered through a rose-colored lens.

Given this, it’s a safe bet that my time away from school was as filled with boring moments as anyone else’s. After all, how can 3 months of free time be chock full of interesting activities? If your kids have just gotten out of school, I am pretty sure you have considered the same problem and are wondering how you might fill your kid’s time without emptying your wallet.

Here are some thoughts:

■ Cinemark Summer Movie Clubhouse: Although outdoor activities will abound in the next three months, there will be times when the heat will make you want to stay inside an air-conditioned box. When that happens, consider the Cinemark Summer Movie Clubhouse. From June through August, 10 movies will be shown with kids in mind. At the box office, tickets run for $1. For an even better deal, you can purchase tickets for 10 films in advance for $5. For more information, go to http://www.cinemark.com/images/smc2014/SMC-BW%20Flyer%20233.pdf.

■ Texas Tech: While you might think a university is primarily geared toward young adults, Texas Tech has a lot to offer kids. For example, the Museum of Texas Tech (www.depts.ttu.edu/museumttu) has many exhibits of interest including dinosaurs. In addition, the National Ranching Heritage Center (www.depts.ttu.edu/ranchhc/Museum.htm) offers an up-close experience with Panhandle history that will entice young and old alike. Lubbock Lake Landmark (www.depts.ttu.edu/museumttu/lll/visitus.html) has outdoor and indoor archaeological exhibits. All are very interesting, high quality, and charge no admission fee. In addition, Tech runs a planetarium (http://www.depts.ttu.edu/museumttu/planetarium.html) with a maximum children’s fee of $3.

■ Library: From kid-friendly events to story times and summer reading programs, our library has quite a few excellent programs for children. When my daughters were younger, we took full advantage of these resources. Since I consider my kids to be upstanding citizens, I like to think that the library played some small role in this. For more details about what is possible, go here: http://www.mylubbock.us/departmental-websites/departments/library/kids-corner/kids-page.

■ Lubbock Memorial Arboretum: For a pleasant and free outdoor experience, the Lubbock Memorial Arboretum, 4111 University Ave., is just the place. Several gardens and a nature trail are available daily between 5 a.m. and midnight, an interpretive center is open during Wednesday workday hours and Second Saturday programs. For more information, call (806) 797-4520.

■ Make your own fun: When my kids were little and the boredom was too great, my wife kept a jar with slips of paper. On each piece was a simple but fun activity for kids. It might involve making sock puppets and creating a puppet show, staging a water balloon fight, or making your own board game. In addition to kids liking simple pleasures more than we can appreciate, the element of surprise takes it to another level. There are a ton of possibilities and you are only limited by your imagination.

■ For additional avenues: In addition to the ideas in this article, there are many more possibilities you can find out about online. There is a website specifically geared toward young people called “Lubbock for Kids” (https://www.lubbockforkids.com/). In addition to providing excellent coverage of Lubbock’s grown up diversions, Lubbock in the Loop (http://www.lubbockintheloop.com/) offers extensive guidance on summer children’s activities as well.

Hopefully, you can use the resources in this article to help your kids have a summer that’s as much fun as the last day of school. If you have ideas on this to share, please visit our Facebook site (log on to Facebook and enter “Lubbock Savvy Shopper” in the search tool) and let everyone read about it! Do it for the kids!

SEAN FIELDS IS THE A-J’S SAVVY SHOPPER. READ HIS COLUMNS SUNDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS. EMAIL HIM AT SAVVYSHOPPERLUBBOCK@GMAIL.COM, LIKE HIS FACEBOOK PAGE AT FACEBOOK.COM/LUBBOCKSAVVYSHOPPER, OR SEE PREVIOUS COLUMNS AND DEALS AT LUBBOCKONLINE.COM/SAVVY-SHOPPER.